REVIEW: Birdie Nichols — Into The West (LP)
Birdie Nichols has achieved a level of artistry as both a songwriter and performer by age seventeen that many of her peers and contemporaries never reach. Her album Into the West announces her as a gifted vehicle for uniquely imaginative songs that lean far more towards traditional country, roots rock, and blues than pop country sensibilities. She isn’t aiming to be the next Taylor Swift. Nichols, instead, comes across as intent on carving out a distinctive niche that embraces the past in a thoroughly contemporary setting. She’s unabashedly and unashamedly herself.
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It comes through from the outset. “Into the West” kicks things off on an assertive yet inviting note. Nichols inhabits material with distinctive style that dramatizes song lyrics without ever overstepping into histrionics. She clearly revels in the title song’s language and tackles obviously demanding phrasing with cool, unruffled skill. The title cut likewise sets the album’s musical character with its time-tested traditionalist slant given a classy radio-friendly sheen.
Crafting music that balances substance and across the board appeal isn’t easy. “Tough as Diamonds” gives us a near ideal example of that. Nichols leads off with a chorus that should appeal to a vast swath of listeners and follows it with equally strong and substantive verses that nicely balance the song. The inspiration in her voice is audible. “Blue Lighting Ambush” features another inspired vocal. Attentive listeners will notice the individual and invariably well-chosen use of image and sound throughout Into the West’s songs. This quality helps make “Blue Lightning Ambush” one of the album’s most memorable tracks.
Conceptual trappings surround the track listing as well. Nichols steeps many of Into the West’s songs deep in imagery and language drawn from the American West without ever sounding contrived. “Dutchman’s Mine” is an excellent example of this at work. Nichols dispatches the windswept and cinematic intrigue of the song’s storytelling values with great vocal confidence. It is far beyond her years. Her musical collaborators are in tune with the album’s vision and fill their roles with great sensitivity.
The lush balladry of “Gunslinger” carries listeners on a consistent wave from beginning to end. It garners one of Nichols’ best vocals; her singing is deeply emotive, measured, and has a lingering positive effect on listeners. “Desert Lilies Blooming” is an impressive single that encapsulates Into the West’s many virtues while also succeeding as a stand-alone performance. It’s likewise another example of the fantastic imagery scattered throughout these songs. The closer “Golden Fields of the Sun” further reinforces that strength.
It’s a sweeping and energetic story set to music. There’s no question that there’s a distinctly throwback quality guiding much of the song, but it doesn’t sound dated. Much of this is thanks to Nichols’ effortless ability to enliven any lyrics. “Golden Fields of the Sun” is musically straightforward, but it’s deceptively so. Careful listening reveals how Nichols and her cohorts layer the instruments to impressive effect. It’s one of the album’s best tracks.
It marks the “true” conclusion of Into the West. She appends one bonus track, an acoustic take on “Blue Lighting Ambush”, doesn’t eclipse its counterpart, but it isn’t a throwaway. It illustrates the flexibility of Nichols’ material. It’s another quality that underlines Into the West’s overall worth. Few albums released in 2024 are better.
Colin Jordan
